In this chapter from Nikon Lenses: From Snapshots to Great Shots, Jerod Foster offers eight issues not only for researching and purchasing a new lens for your camera body, but also for learning about and using lenses in a way that resembles how a skilled artisan uses her tools.

This chapter is from the book

Top eight considerations

Photography wouldn’t be much without lenses. Sure, you can make images without them, but if you want something more than just a blob of light and color, lenses come in quite handy. All you really need to make images is light, a way to focus the light, and something to capture or fixate the light. A lens’s basic function is to channel a reflection of light through a number of pieces of glass (referred to as elements) and project it on the sensor or film. But lenses do so much more than just focus light.

Used well, they help bring our creative vision to some sort of reality. Lenses are an essential part of the photography equation. Each lens has its special use, and when you are pushing the limits of that use, all lenses offer creative routes to making great images!

Consider the following eight issues not only for researching and purchasing a new lens for your camera body, but also for learning about and using lenses in a way that resembles how a skilled artisan uses her tools.